The Government’s pledge to end homelessness will fail unless services are fully funded in the upcoming Spending Review, the Salvation Army has warned.
In a new report, the charity said investing in homelessness would prevent spiralling costs in the future, such as expensive temporary accommodation that costs local authorities close to £1bn a year.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including an annual investment of £686m to tackle homelessness.
Local Government Association housing spokesman, Cllr David Renard, said: 'In the longer-term, housing must be a central part of the recovery from coronavirus, with the Spending Review delivering a genuine renaissance in council house-building that reduces homelessness, gets rough sleepers off the streets for good, supports people’s wellbeing and is climate-friendly.'
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: 'We’re committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness and ending rough sleeping for good.
'That’s why we changed the law so councils now have a duty to try to stop people from becoming homeless and have provided over half a billion pounds to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in 2020 and 2021.'